Refrigerating system removably mounted



Oct. 17, 1950 s. SCORHANIDIS REFRIGERATING SYSTEM REMOVABLY MOUNTED 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 17. 1948 E s E g r INVENTOR;

'51 SICarfiarzz'azls,

rayflywmkzp Patented a. 17, 1950 BEFRIGERATING SYSTEM REMOVABILY MOUNTED Sebastien S. Corlnanidic, Athens, Greece I Application November 17,1948, Serial No. 60,442

8 Claims. (Cl. 62-129) This invention relates to refrigerating systems of the type such as aredisclosed in my co-pending applications Serial No. 32,480, filed June 11, 1948, now Patent No. 2,489,009, granted November 22, 1949, for Refrigerating Systems, and Serial No. 60,441, filed November 17, 1948, for Refrigerating Systems, wherein a refrigerator chamber is provided with externally applied refrigerating or cooling means. In the refrigeration of refrigerator chambers on rolling stock such as refrigerator railroad cars, the most suitable point of application of a refrigerating unit is under the floor of the chamber.

While the present invention is herein shown and described as an outside refrigerating unit for railroad rolling stock which is readily attached or detached for servicing or repair and which may be used for more than one refrigerator chamber by alternate application, and which has closure means for simultaneous operation to open it to the atmosphere and close it off from the refrigerator chamber without removing it therefrom for quick defrosting, it is to be understood that the refrigerating unit may as well be used with refrigerator trucks and also on stationary refrigerators.

Another object is to provide a frame for insertion into the floor of a refrigerator chamber having slide rails and inlet and outlet ports with a door therefor, resiliently held normally in closed position, and hinged so as to move out of the way of a refrigerating unit adapted for mounting on said rails.

A further object is to provide the refrigerating unit with flange rails slideable into the slide rails of the frame referred to above, and having outlet and inlet openings for registration in sealing relation respectively with the inlet and outlet ports of the frame, to form a circuit for withdrawing a stream of air from the refrigerator chamber, cooling it in the refrigerating unit and returning it to the refrigerator chamber, when said unit is mounted in place on the rails of said frame.

A further object is to insulate the freezing compartment of the refrigerating unit, which contains a blower under the inlet port and a freezer or cooling coil below the outlet port of the un t, and to provide a baffle around the outlet from said blower to direct the air from the blower to a space below said coil, and further to provide closure means between the coil and the blower space as well as for the inlet and outlet ports of the unit, said closure means between said coil and blower space being normally held in closed position, and the other closure means being normally held in open position for normal refrigerating operation, the side of the freezing compartment containing the cooling coil having a door, and connections between said door and said closure means for simultaneously operating said closure means to close the inlet and outlet ports and open thecoil and blower spaces to each other when said door is opened, whereby said blower will draw the warm ambient air through said coil and discharge it back into the atmosphere through the space below said coil, for quick defrosting. while the refrigerator chamber is sealed on.

A further object is to provide a switch in the circuits of the motor compressor and cooling fan for the refrigerant in the refrigerating unit and control means for said switch operable by said connections to the closure referred to above, so as to open said switch when said door is opened to cut off said motor compressor and cooling fan.

A further object is to form said closure means by a series of parallel shutters having operating arms pivoted to common operating rods interconnected for simultaneous operation by bell crank levers with pin and slot connections.

Other and more specific objects will become apparent in the following detailed description of one form of refrigerating system constructed in accordance with the present invention, having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevational front view of the refrigerating unit mounted in place in the slide rails of a frame fitted in the floor of a refrigerator chamber,

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the refrigerating unit taken on the lines 22 of Figs. 1 and 3,

Fig. 3 is a sectional end view of the refrigerating unit and frame and the adjacent portion of the refrigerator chamber, taken on the lines 33 of Figs. 1 and 2, and

Fig. 4 is a partial detail perspective view on an enlarged scale, showing the operating connections between the door of the freezing compartment, the closure means and the switch.

As in the co-pending applications above referred to, the freezing or cooling compartment of the refrigerating unit is enclosed by an insulating wall I and contains a blower 2 of a freezing or cooling coil 3. The motor compressor 4 and the cooling fan 5 and coil 6 for the compressed refrigerant are placed in the refrigerating unit outside the insulated wall I, as is also the motor I for the blower 2.

The inlet and outlet ports, 8 and 9 respectively, of the freezing compartment in the present unit are located in the top for sealing registration with the outlet and inlet ports, 10 and it respectively, of the frame l2, which is installed in the floor I3 of the refrigerator chamber Hi. This frame is provided with slide rails I5 and I6, which slidingly support the flange rails l1 and I8 respectively of the refrigerating unit. The frame is also provided with a door l9 normally held resiliently closed over the ports l0 and II to seal off the refrigerator chamber it when the refrigerating unit is removed therefrom. The door [9 is so mounted on hinges 20 outside the adjacent slide rail, that it may be swung open the refrigerator chamber for receiving the cooled air from the frame inlet port ii and suitably distributing it in the chamber through distribution outlets 22.

In the refrigerating compartment the blower 2 is positioned under the inlet port 8 and the cooling or freezing coil 3 under the outlet port 9. A bafiie 23 is formed around the discharge from the blower to direct the air therefrom to the space 24 below the freezing coil 3. A closure 25 normally held closed is provided to form a partition between the coil 3 and the blower space 26, whereby a continuous passage is provided in the refrigerating compartment for the air drawn from the refrigerator chamber i4 by blower 2 thru the ports l and 8 to be directed through baiiie 23, into the space 24, then through the coil 3 and ports 9 and H into the conduit 2|, and through the distribution outlet 22 back into the refrigerator chamber I4.

The ports 8 and 9 are provided with closures 21 and 28 normally-held open, and are connected for operation simultaneously with closure 25 by bell crank 29. These closures may be formed by a series of parallel shutters 30, having operating levers 3| pivotally connected to common operating rods 32 and 33, which are connected by pin and slot connections 34 to the bell crank 29.

The insulated wall I is provided with a door 35 on the coil side of the freezing compartment, hinged at 36 and having a link 31 pivotally connecting it to a slideable rod 38 mounted in guides 39 and 40 and connected to operating rod 33 by the bell crank 4i thru pin and slot connections 42. Thus when the door 35 is opened, it opens the closure 25 and closes the closures 21 and 28 for sealing off the refrigerator chamber and providing quick defrosting by drawing in warm ambient air through the open door and the coil 3 and discharging it back through the baffle and the space 24 into the atmosphere.

A switch 44 in the circuits of the motor compressor 4 and the cooling fan may be controlled by control arm 43 for simultaneous operation with the opening of door 35 to cut oflE the operation of those elements during the defrosting operation. Such a switch may be mounted on one of the guides 40, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, or in any other suitable manner.

When the refrigerating unit is removed from the refrigerator chamber, the door 35 being kept closed, the defrosting operation may be facilitated by cutting off the motor compressor 4 and cooling fan' 5 by manually disconnecting their circuit connections. The ambient air in this case is drawn in through port 8 and circulated past the coil 3 to melt the frost thereon and discharged back into the atmosphere through port 9. Upon removal of the unit from the refrigerator chamber, the door l9 closes automatically since it is resiliently biased to closed position by any suitable means, such as, for example, springs incorporated in wel1-known manner in the door hinge pivots.

The drip pan 45 under the coil 3, for collecting the melted condensate either during defrosting or during normal refrigerating operation, is connected for drainage into the dipping pan 45, which is at a slightly lower level back of the dust screen 41, where a wick material is hung with its lower portion dipping into the dipping pan for soaking up any'water therein and exposing it to the ambient air stream to evaporate it back into the atmosphere while facilitating the cooling of the compressed refrigerant in the coil 6, as is more fully disclosed in the co-pending applications.

Many obvious modifications may be made in the form and arrangement of the several elements composing the structure of the present device without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerating system for refrigerator chambers in railroad refrigerating cars and the like,

comprising a frame having an inlet and an outlet port in the floor of the refrigerator chamber, ex-

ternal slide rails at its sides, a refrigerating unit having flange rails at the top of its ends and outlet and inlet ports in'its top adapted for sealing register with the inlet and outlet ports respectively of said frame, when said unit is mounted in place by sliding its flange rails over the slide rails while swinging the door out of the way, and a door hinged along the outside of one of said rails ,for sealing said ports and having resilient means for automatically biasing it into closed position upon removal of said refrigerating unit.

2. A refrigerating system for refrigerator chambers, comprising a frame having ports fixed in the bottom of a refrigerator chamber, a door for sealing said ports hinged along one side of said frame, a refrigerating unit having a freezing compartment with ports in its top wall adapted to register with the ports in the bottom of said refrigerator chamber, means for quickly attaching said unit to said frame when the door is opened for bringing said ports in the unit in sealing register with the ports in said frame, said ports in the frame comprising inlet and outlet ports for said refrigerator chamber and said corresponding ports in the top of said freezing compartment comprising outlet and inlet ports respectively for said compartment, blower means in said compartment providing a circulation of air between said compartment and said chamber during normal freezing or cooling operation, closure means in the ports of said compartment, a closure forming a partition in said compartment for normally directing the air flow through the freezing or cooling coil in said compartment, a door in a side wall of said compartment, and connections between said door and said closures for simultaneously closing said ports and opening said partition when the door is opened to provide defrosting by directing the ambient air through said coil and out again through said open door.

3. A refrigerating system for refrigerator chambers, comprising a frame having ports fixed in the bottom of a refrigerator chamber, a door for sealing said ports hinged along one side of said frame, a refrigerating unit having a freezing compartment with ports in its top wall adapted to register with the ports in the bottom of said refrigerator chamber, means for quickl attaching said unit to said frame when the door is opened for bringing said ports in the unit in sealing register with the ports in said frame, said ports in the frame comprising inlet and outlet ports for said refrigerator chamber and said corresponding ports in the top of said freezing compartment comprising outlet and inlet ports respectively for said compartment, blower means in said compartment providing a circulation of air between said compartment and said chamber during normal freezing or cooling operation, said coil being 'on one side of said partition under said outlet port for said compartment, a blower on the other side of said partition under the inlet port, and a baffle around the discharge of said blower for directing the air from said blower to the space under said coil.

4. A refrigerating system for refrigerator chambers, comprising a frame having ports fixed in the bottom of a refrigerator chamber, a door for sealing said ports hinged along one side of said frame, a refrigerating unit having a freezing compartment with ports in its top wall adapted to register with the ports in the bottom of said refrigerator chamber, means for quickly attaching said unit to said frame when the door is opened for bringing said ports in the unit in sealing register with the ports in said frame, said ports in the frame comprising inlet and outlet ports for said refrigerator chamber and said corresponding ports in the top of said freezing compartment comprising outlet and inlet ports respectively for said compartment, blower means in said compartment providing a circulation of air between said compartment and said chamber during normal freezing or cooling operation, said closures comprising a series of parallel shutters having operating levers pivotally joined to common operating rods, and bell crank levers connected by pin and slot connections to said operating rods for simultaneous operation of said closure means to open said ports when said partition is closed during normal refrigerating operation and for sealing said ports and opening said partition during defrosting operation.

5. A refrigerating system for refrigerator chambers, comprising a frame having ports fixed in the bottom of a refrigerator chamber, a door for sealing said ports hinged along one side of said frame, a refrigerating unit having a freezing compartment with ports in its top wall adapted to register with the ports in the bottom of said refrigerator chamber, means for quickly attaching said unit to said frame when the door is opened for bringing said ports in the unit in sealing register with the ports in said frame, said ports in the frame comprising inlet and outlet ports for said refrigerator chamber and said corresponding ports in the top of said freezing compartment comprising outlet and inlet ports respectively for said compartment, blower means in said compartment providing a circulation of air between said compartment and said chamber during normal freezing or cooling operation, said door being adjacent said coil and connections between said door and said operating rods to operate said closures for defrosting operation when said door is opened and for normal operation when said door is closed.

6. A refrigerating system for refrigerator chambers, comprising a frame having ports fixed in the bottom of a refrigerator chamber, a door for sealing said ports hinged along one side of said frame, a refrigerating unit having a freezing compartment with ports in its top wall adapted to register with the ports in the bottom of said refrigerator chamber, means for quickly attaching said unit to said frame when the door is opened for bringing said ports in the unit in sealing register with the ports in said frame, said ports in the frame comprising inlet and outlet ports for said refrigerator chamber and said correspending ports in the top of said freezing coinpartment comprising outlet and inlet ports re tivclr for said compartment, blower means in said compartment providing a circulation of air between said compartment and said chamber during normal freezing or cooling operation, said connections including a linkpivoted to said door, a slideable rod pivoted at one end to said link and to said operating rods at the other end through a bell crank lever by means of pin and slot connections.

7. A refrigerating system for refrigerator chambers, comprising a frame having ports fixed in the bottom of a refrigerator chamber, a door for sealing said ports hinged along one side of said frame, a refrigerating unit having a freezing compartment with ports in its top wall adapted to register with the parts in the bottom of said refrigerator chamber, means for quickly attaching said unit to said frame when the door is opened for bringing said ports in the unit insealing register with the ports in said frame, said ports in the frame comprising inlet and outlet ports for said refrigerator chamber and said corresponding ports in the top of said freezing compartment comprising outlet and inlet ports respectively for said compartment, blower means in said compartment providing a circulation of air between said compartment and said chamber during normal freezing or cooling operation, said unit including insulated walls around said freezing compartment, a motor compressor and cooling fan for the compressed refrigerant outside of said walls, a switch in the circuits for said motor compressor and cooling fan, and a control lever for said switch connected to said slideable rod for simultaneous operation to cut oil said motor compressor and cooling fan. when said door is open to facilitate defrosting.

8. A refrigerating system for refrigerator chambers, comprising a frame having ports; fixed in the bottom of a refrigerator chamber, a. door for sealing said ports hinged along one side of said frame, a refrigerating unit having a freezing compartment with ports in its top wall adapted to register with the ports in the bottom of said rei'rigerator chamber. means for quickly attaching said unit to said frame when the door is opened for bringing said ports in the unit in sealing register with the ports in said frame, said ports in the frame comprising inlet and outlet ports for said refrigerator chamber and said corresponding ports in the top of said freezing compartment comprising outlet and inlet ports respectively for said compartment, blower means in said compartment providing a circulation of air between said compartment and said chamber during normal freezing or cooling operation, said unit including a motor compressor and cooling means for the compressed refrigerant, a control switch for said compressor and cooling means, and connections between said switch and said door for cutting off said means to facilitate defrosting when said door is opened.

SEBASTIEN El. CORHANIDIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

rmrran srarns PATENTS Number Name Date 2,099,747 Melcher NOV. 25, 1937 2,197,437 Reilly Apr. 16, 1940 2,247,028 Kunta June 24, 1941 %,303,857 Numero Dec. 1, 1942 2,433,655 D1 209mm I..... Dec. 30, 1947 

